Albert’s Day Out–a new poem

He set out begrudgingly from the house ’cause he needed Drano and some pants,and there wasn’t nobody he could callto ask to go and fetch.

He went timidly as he ventured out intoall that wasn’t the house,the only other place there is besides the house.

He cursed bad and lazy drivers andassured himself that the carelessness and selfishnesswere just symptoms of larger societal problems.

He spoke about people who had once been somewherebut had gone off or died off,all of his vocalizations coming in various gruntsthat only he could translate.

Sometimes he spoke to himself, butsometimes he was speaking to the wife who had gone aheadand who he imagined was surely glad to have made it towhere she doesn’t have to listen anymore.

He parked a truck and exited about the only form of technology that he is comfortable with outside of a kitchen,and he cringed as he walked into a worldwith more kinds of technology thanhe couldn’t get comfortable with in a million years.

He finds what he’s looking for easy enough,because he’s not a moron andstill knows how to walk a store and read,and he waits longer than he would have toif he were to allow himself to conduct his transactionin any manner other thanhanding cash to a human.

He makes himself stay silent,not amazed by how they have even made that basic thing complicated,with all the questions, andyes, he’ll give a dollar so that local kids can have it better.

He looks around at all the technologyand wonders how all of that can make it simplerthan one person telling someone how much a thing isand that person giving them that much money.

His purchases in tact,he makes it back to the safety of his Ford,and he manages to navigate his way through the seemingly endless supply of drivers,who’d be better served if they could hearthe cussing behind his grunts.

And he makes it back home,that only other place there is,the only place he cares to be.

Share this:

Like this:

LikeLoading...

Published by paulelmo

I am a West Virginia writer relocated to Pennsylvania. My wife, Becky, and I are raising two wonderful boys, Finnegan, ten, and Simon, six.
Dear friends,
Welcome to our website.
I am a Christian and a bartender. An alcoholic in recovery and a passionate lover of music, my writing reflects these things.
I began writing regularly in the early to mid-90s, and I have worked toward being a full-time freelance writer since then. During my time as a bartender, I did go back to school, obtaining a BA from West Virginia State University, graduating Magna, learning a second language, publishing, and editing.
Since then, it has been more writing toward the freelance goal. I'm making some headway too; I'm writing financial technology (fintech) analysis for Lending Times and about to expand that role with the company's forthcoming publication, Blockchain Times. This has brought a new flavor to my thoughts, and don't be surprised when you come upon something about blockchain tech, Ethereum, or bitcoin among these pages.
I appreciate you stopping by. If you're not sure what you're looking for, you can scroll down to the search field and search "What to read on here" (Don't use the quotation marks), and you'll see a list of posts that I feel represent the website well.
Thanks. I look forward to hearing any thoughts you have.
Until soon.
Paul Keenan
Orrtanna, PA
1/23/2018
View all posts by paulelmo